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Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Ratings

4.09809 out of
10 with
2011 ratings

Board Game Rank: 13952

Children's Game Rank: 657

Description

Mouse Trap pits 2-4 players against each other as mice trying to navigate through a complex mousetrap. They build the Rube Goldberg inspired mousetrap as they move their mice across the board. They also try to collect cheese cards, which allow them to move other mice to cheese wheel which is the bait for the trap. Once the mousetrap has been completely constructed, players can attempt to capture each others' mice in it by turning the crank, which activates the mousetrap. If the mousetrap doesn't malfunction, the mouse is captured and out of the game. The winner is the last mouse who avoids being trapped. The main appeal of Mouse Trap is the ridiculously complex contraption that is the mousetrap. Somehow even young children can figure out how to assemble it from the blueprints on the board, and everyone enjoys watching it do its magic.

Ratings

6.61426 out of
10 with
256 ratings

Board Game Rank: 3669

Thematic Rank: 544

Description

Ares Magazine #6. This is a prequel to The Wreck of the B.S.M. Pandora.

It is a solitaire game of interstellar exploration. The player controls the Biological Survey Mission Pandora as it travels the space ways in search of alien life forms. He uses the crew, robots and equipment of the ship to collect exotic specimens with a minimum of losses --and hopefully get back intact. The game has two time scales, the tour months that affect the "strategic" play, going from planet to planet, and the expedition hours, the tactical on-planet play. It uses an event paragraph system to generate the narrative flow, and the map shows several planet surface samples (studio sets?), to be used as needed.

Ratings

5.32609 out of
10 with
23 ratings

Board Game Rank: Not Ranked

Description

Commercial Crazies is a VCR game where you watch a commercial and then answer a question regarding some minor detail in the commercial you just saw. You need to answer three questions correctly to win.

The big draw for the game is the commercials. They are classic 80s commercials from Sedelmaier, the guy that brought us "Where's the beef?" and the fast-talking FedEx guy.

Ratings

6.05543 out of
10 with
46 ratings

Board Game Rank: 9991

Description

This is a simple game of demolition derby racing. Each player controls a car and tries to speed into the other players. Various setups are possible, such as the free-for-all or the figure-eight race. Cars keep track of damage in a simple fashion, and collisions are resolved with a simple speed-related table and damage cards. Interesting results are locked fenders (the two cars are entangled sitting ducks for a while) and punctured gas tank (which leaves you just a few turns until you become a wreck).

Ratings

5.805 out of
10 with
98 ratings

Board Game Rank: 9441

Description

Two players compete to populate their playing area (DOMAIN) with EIGHT personality cards (THRELMS), four of a NOBLE type and four of a PEASANT type. This they accomplish by playing Threlms from their hands or by robbing from their opponent. Additional card types and abilities on some of the Threlms can be utilized to disrupt your opponent's play whilst bolstering your own.

Ratings

6 out of
10 with
1 ratings

Board Game Rank: Not Ranked

Description

It is the start of another gray week in metropolis and it’s all just been getting you down … until, that is, a satisfying thud by the front door heralds the arrival of a large brown envelope. Unbeknownst to you, your life is about to change. You curse the postman, as the remains of the shattered letterbox (splinters and all) litter the hall carpet, and a chill Monday-morning breeze whistles through your dressing gown and up the ample trouser of your well-worn pajamas. But this concerns you not, for ripping open the letter reveals a simple house brick with a piece of paper wrapped around it, and a small yellow sticky note attached to the red clay top. The sticky label reads:

"THROW ME THROUGH YOUR FRONT WINDOW”

Stepping out into the blank a.m. you tut loudly at the myriad gnomes in next door’s garden before launching the plain building component, with fullest force, through the ornate Georgian bay window ‘pon abode’s frontage. Screaming with blue murder and foulest language, you first run into your house, and then emerge again a second later bellowing: “what b*****d did that?” You look to your left and, thence, to your right in vain hope of catching sight of the vandalistic culprit. Cursing under your breath, you return again to your home and gently close the door.

The house brick silently mocks you, your moral outrage, and your ‘Mr. Bunny’ slippers, lying as it does on one of its long sides – the attached paper is crumpled, but intact. Sweaty-palmed, you pull the note away from its stony guardian and flatten the creased message before reading:

“My dear nephew,Please forgive my indirectness (and the fact that you may not actually be my nephew) but I have been told (by the giant clams that live on my face) that I have so many relatives that it is nigh on impossible to remember all of your names; so I shall (instead) resort to the simple nomenclature ‘nephew’. My mind is not what it used to be – indeed, it used to be a liver – that being said, I address you as one of the potential beneficiaries of my capacious legacy! “Your capacious legacy?” I hear you cry – Yes! You will, with a bit of luck, by this time next week, be quite incredibly and most-certainly indecently wealthy. “How?” I hear you retort. The answer is very simple – you will attend my funeral this coming Friday and, once the merriment and festivity has subsided, you will kill everyone else in the house. That’s all – nothing complicated. The last person alive in the building when Monday (and my tall solicitor) comes will inherit my vast fortune, my enormous financial holdings, and my capacious legacy!

You stand amazed – Fate has saved you the last slice of Viennetta and stands poised to either offer it lovingly for consumption, or ram it in your face until you weep like a pansied fop. Are you up to the challenge?

Summary (in plain English): The object is to be the last player left in the game with life counters, while all the other players have lost theirs.

Ratings

5.92542 out of
10 with
295 ratings

Board Game Rank: 6012

Description

The first of the German Lord of the Rings movie tie-in games. Small-box cardgame covering the Fellowship of the Ring, although fairly abstract. Rules complexity is very modest. A little bit of German on the cards and chits, a triviality for the hardened Spieler, but some sort of cheat sheet may be required.

Ratings

5.5446 out of
10 with
457 ratings

Board Game Rank: 11398

Children's Game Rank: 341

Description

Cast spells, brew concoctions, melt witches...

Use a smidgen of match and a pinch of probability. Capture cards by matching or adding cards from your hand, then count the ingredients and measure the powers. A splash of strategy, and the potion is magic!

Ratings

5.68396 out of
10 with
106 ratings

Board Game Rank: 10433

Description

The game contains 50 pictures depicting various scenes. Each player has an answer sheet that contains 26 blanks, one for each letter.

A picture is chosen and the timer is started. Players must search the picture and find an item in the picture for each letter on the sheet. Points are awarded if you have a unique word (like Scattergories).

Ratings

Description

Subtitle of the game: "Reformation and Counter-Reformation, 1532-1555"

On the box cover: "The time is 6 February 1531."

One of the games in SPI's Power Politics series.

From the publisher:

Recreating the turbulent era of the Reformation, from the viewpoint of political/religious interaction and military activity. A Mighty Fortress is designed with a mechanical simplicity that is matched only by the subtlety of the game's interplay among contesting forces.

A Mighty Fortress simulates the conditions, which made possible the spread of the Lutheran Reformation and the subsequent Catholic reaction (the Counter-Reformation) in the years 1532-1555. The game recreates the actual historical objectives of the major countries in Europe in the Sixteenth Century as well as their military strengths and resources. There are six players in the game representing the six major countries, England, France, the Ottoman Empire, the Hapsburgs, the Pope, and the collection of German states we will call The Lutherans.

The Lutheran player is intent on promoting the Protestant cause throughout Europe, and the Papacy is equally resolved to gather any straying nations back into the Catholic fold. The Hapsburg Empire -- strong in arms and sprawling across half the continent -- seeks to maintain its possessions in the face of pressure from all directions. In England, Henry VIII is engaged with his own confrontation with the Pope; and French forces are marshalling to dismantle the Hapsburg dominions. And Suleiman the Magnificent is constantly watching for the opportunity to expand his Ottoman empire -- at anyone's expense.

The Hapsburgs have, by far, the largest number of combat forces. Unhindered by other problems, they could easily suppress Lutheranism. However, other players have objectives that can usually be achieved only at the expense of the mighty Hapsburgs. Therefore, depending on the rapidly shifting political situation, there will probably be several alliances against Hapsburg influence. Because of this convoluted political situation, the players will often find themselves at cross-purposes with other players whom they were aiding the Game-Turn before. Thus, the possibilities for political and military interaction are extensive.

A Mighty Fortress covers the twenty-four years from 1532 to 1555 -- a period fraught with shifting alliances, political and religious fervor, and frantic efforts to shift the balance of power. Theological debates, treaties of peace, declarations of war, excommunication, taxation, and missionaries -- all are included in this simulation of one of the most violent and implacably hostile eras of European history. The game covers all actions from the year 1532 -- right after formation of the Schmalkaldic League -- until 1555 and the Peace of Augsburg, which guaranteed Lutheranism as a religion [sic] and allowed the German estates to choose between that and Catholicism.

Ratings

6.8914 out of
10 with
154 ratings

Board Game Rank: 4097

War Game Rank: 715

Description

Part of SPI's Power Politics series, the historical simulation of the military and political conflict of 1918-1921 which abolished the Czarist regime and created the foundation of the Soviet Union. Each player controls one or more factions drawn from the revolutionary, counter-revolutionary, nationalist and interventionist forces which historically participated. For this reason, players may even find it advantageous to attack their own forces. Victory depends first on the side one wants (either revolutionary or counter-revolutionary) winning the war and second on being the player most successful defeating the forces of the losing side.

Special rules cover the Politburo Central Committee, Purges, the Czar and the Imperial Gold. Optional rules permit any number of players, as well as solitaire. A large number of named leader counters are included. Also there are historical notes, design notes and a 2-page summary of the rules.

Ratings

4.91379 out of
10 with
29 ratings

Board Game Rank: Not Ranked

Description

The players race around a circular track to accumulate points. The player pieces are mounted piggyback on neutral "carriers". On your turn, you roll up to three dice (1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3), aiming for 4 or less --one die at a time. If you get 4 or less on two dice, you move twice the amount, if you get it on three, you move thrice. If you total more than 4, you're busted and your piece goes off board, plus a chip is added to the pot (initially seeded with 1 chip). As pieces move, they push those in front of them on the track. There are two exit tracks where you get to push pieces over the side. Whenever this happens, you also add a chip to the pot. You can get back on track only if there is a carrier piece available.

As you pass the pot, you grab the chips there (and seed it again with a chip). First player to 10 chips wins.

Ratings

6.51 out of
10 with
20 ratings

Board Game Rank: Not Ranked

Description

The "Cybernetic Attachments" expansion set for "Super Giant Monster Showdown" adds approximately 190 new cards for use with the base game. If you've created your monster all the way to its Power Sources and still find it lacking "oomph", a new set of cards called Cybernetic Attachments can be used to augment Monsters during the creation phase with wheels, cannons, lasers, the ability to emit drones, heavy duty armor, signal jammers (for controlling an opponent's Defense Units) and more. Each Cybernetic Attachment card functions as a body part, 1 unit of Cyber-Power (like the power sources from the base game, Gaia,Alien,Chemical,Radiation,Fire,Electricity), and 2 points of Armor! These account for 90 of the new cards, the other 100 consist of new Bio, Physical Modifiers, Powers, Map, and Event cards. Also included are some new rules (the "Monster Challenge"), and new attack types ("Sticking Holds" and "Life Drain").

Ratings

6.57778 out of
10 with
27 ratings

Board Game Rank: Not Ranked

Description

"Destroy Tokyo Tower" is a campaign sourcebook for "Super Giant Monster Showdown". It includes 25 different scenarios with maps showing city card layouts for each, a handful of unique new Defense Units and 25 new Event cards. Scenarios include "The Great Monster Egg War" where a giant egg falls from space and will eventually grow into a baby monster, and "Terror at the North Pole" where the monsters play as 2 teams - the Ice monsters goal is to change the entire map into a glacier, the other team's goal is to melt all the ice on the map.

Ratings

5.34091 out of
10 with
22 ratings

Board Game Rank: Not Ranked

War Game Rank: Not Ranked

Description

Gorgonites Vs. Commando Elite - Command Your Army

This game is played on a hex board with a 3-D backdrop and built in spinner. Spin the spinner, roll the die, move your men, load the catapult, remove your opponents men, and capture the flag.Included with this game are twelve detailed and paintable figures and a skateboard catapult.

Ratings

Description

"Everyone who watches 'The Price is Right' show on TV, will enjoy playing Bid It Right at home. The object of the game is to out-guess the bid your opponents will make and win prize money."

Each player has 15 bids cards from $10 to $150. Each turn a prize with value from $10 to $150 is turned up. Every player places a bid card. The highest bid takes the prize and all bid cards used are discarded. If there is a tie for the highest bid the lowest bidder takes the prize.

Ratings

5.51818 out of
10 with
22 ratings

Board Game Rank: Not Ranked

Description

The Vampire Connection

In this game, you take on the role of a vampire and must provide yourself with blood. To do this, you visit a nearby village and carry its inhabitants off to your castle, in order to more easily get their blood. But you are not alone, other vampires are also keen on the inhabitants of the village and they won't hesitate to steal them from your castle. The competition among the vampires is rough and the life of an immortal, which depends on that red elixir of life, is not that easy.It is apparent that there are vampire hunters in abundance throughout the area and they consider it their sacred task to drive stakes into the hearts of peaceful vampires. But, fortunately, you have a hunchback assistant, that can revive you.What's that?You just sent him away?Well, that wasn't too bright of you...How will you do as an immortal?The winner is the one among you who sucks the most blood from the village that you afflict"-from English rulebook

Ratings

5.9 out of
10 with
5 ratings

Board Game Rank: Not Ranked

Description

"Integralis - The big free-for-all at the bookbinding shop.

Integralis is a game about the bitter fight to fulfill jobs. In this game, you are the leader of a project team in a bookbinding shop. Together with your team (your cards) you try to handle the mountain of incoming job. There are small orders, which are relatively easy to fill but yield only small profit, and big orders, for which a great deal of work must be done. Big jobs also bring big profits, however. The prize that our team receives for a successfully completed job is dependent on the number of tasks. However, the number of machines is limited and the competition among the teams is rough. No methods are shunned in the constant effort to keep away opposing workers or hinder their performance, not even bribery or sabotage. The only thing that matters at the end of the game is which team has the most money."-From English rulebook

Ratings

5.90671 out of
10 with
36 ratings

Board Game Rank: 10239

Description

From the rule book:

"Egg On - A mating game for screwy birds

In this game, the players slip on the feathers of a male bird. Through the use of bridal gifts (worms) they try to convince the stunning females (in the middle of the table) that they would be the best fathers for their eggs. During the course of the game, the males try to mate with the females in order to achieve paternity over certain eggs. However, not all the eggs are equally valuable. The first egg in a nest scores fewer points than the third. Also, there are females who are better suited for mating (they have matching color) and their eggs thus earn a bonus.The King of the Nest will, without a doubt, be the one who manages to mate with all the females, i.e. to collect eggs in all the colors."

Ratings

4.92077 out of
10 with
65 ratings

Board Game Rank: 12883

War Game Rank: 2501

Description

From the box:In the Hollows of the Abyss, the great Lords make war. Vast armies clash endlessly over the tortured landscape battling for power and that most precious commodity, souls. Striding like giants among the Hordes, mighty Archfiends and their terrible Lieutenants reap great ruin, slaughtering their foes over and over again, in a bloody practice to storm the Heights from which they had Fallen so long ago...

INFERNO - Battles of the Abyss is a miniature based game set in the horrific vision of Dante Alighieri's Inferno. As a player you are a general of one of the seven great Lords of the Abyss. You must use great skill in calling up and deploying your forces to meet the enemy on the map board or tabletop. Everything you need to play is in this boxed set including the versatile and easy to use Inferno rules system.

Ratings

7.33819 out of
10 with
20529 ratings

Board Game Rank: 176

Abstract Game Rank: 8

Description

From the Publisher:

Hive is a highly addictive strategic game for two players that is not restricted by a board and can be played anywhere on any flat surface. Hive is made up of twenty two pieces, eleven black and eleven white, resembling a variety of creatures each with a unique way of moving.

With no setting up to do, the game begins when the first piece is placed down. As the subsequent pieces are placed this forms a pattern that becomes the playing surface (the pieces themselves become the board). Unlike other such games, the pieces are never eliminated and not all have to be played. The object of the game is to totally surround your opponent's queen, while at the same time trying to block your opponent from doing likewise to your queen. The player to totally surround his opponent's queen wins the game.

Ratings

3.33333 out of
10 with
12 ratings

Board Game Rank: Not Ranked

Description

The Snap deck consists of 60 cards in 4 color suits. The cards are numbered front and back from 1 to 15. The game is played in two phases. In the "cool phase," players draw and discard cards in turn order, with the stipulation that the discarded card must be higher in value than the one drawn. This continues until one player is satisfied with the mix achieved in his/her 7-card hand and calls "Snap." At that point, the "hot phase" begins, with players slapping cards at will - although one at a time - on the discard pile. When two cards with with matching color are placed one over the other, that suit becomes the winning suit. Players then score points for cards of that color in their hand. Players also score for all other cards of any color with numbers matching their winning-suit cards remaining in other players' hands (except for cards valued 10 and above). It is suggested to play as many rounds as players in the game, with the player achieving the most points overall winning.

Ratings

Description

Survive is a cutthroat game where players seek to evacuate their pieces from an island that is breaking up, while remembering where their highest-valued pieces are located to maximize their score.

An island made up of 40 hex-tiles is slowly sinking into the ocean (as the tiles are removed from the board). Each player controls ten people (valued from 1 to 6) that they try and move towards the safety of the surrounding islands before the main island finally blows up. Players can either swim or use boats to travel but must avoid sea serpents, whales and sharks on their way to safety.

Survive is very similar to Escape from Atlantis with some key differences.

Survive was reprinted as "Survive: Escape from Atlantis!" by publisher Stronghold Games and hit store shelves in February, 2011. The reprint contains the game Survive, as well as all the extra pieces needed in order to play the game as "Escape from Atlantis".

"Survive: Escape from Atlantis!" is game #2 in the Stronghold Games "Survivi Line".

Ratings

6.672 out of
10 with
819 ratings

Board Game Rank: 1969

Party Game Rank: 106

Description

Aptly described as Confucius plays Balderdash.

One player is designated as the Reader each round. That player reads the first part of an old saying or proverb to the group, and states the country of origin for that proverb. The remaining players must secretly write an ending for the proverb and pass it to the Reader, who collects all possible endings.

The Reader shuffles the submissions, and then reads each ending aloud for the group. Players must then vote for the ending they think is authentic. A player gets 2 points for each vote that their submission receives, and an additional 2 points if they vote for the correct ending. If no player votes for the real ending then the Reader is awarded 3 points.

Once a player has earned 20 points, the game is over. If there is no winner at the end of a round, then the next player becomes the Reader and this process repeats.

"All the Wit of the World... is Not in One Head"

With 2500 sayings from across the world, creative wordplay and careful use of dialect are just as important in this game as the metaphors that you create.

"The Beginning is... Half the Whole"

Below are a few sample proverbs from one of the cards in the game.

There's an old Tibetan saying: "It is no use trying to tug a..." There's an old Zambian saying: "A small thing is not noticed..." There's an old Dutch saying: "For the sake of the grease the cat licks..." There's an old English saying: "Cheese and money should always..." There's an old Croatian saying: "Those who eat porridge..."

Only the first half of the proverb is shown here - if you want to find out how the proverb ends, you'll have to play the game!

Ratings

7.93841 out of
10 with
42882 ratings

Board Game Rank: 23

Strategy Game Rank: 22

Description

Power Grid is the updated release of the Friedemann Friese crayon game Funkenschlag. It removes the crayon aspect from network building in the original edition, while retaining the fluctuating commodities market like Crude: The Oil Game and an auction round intensity reminiscent of The Princes of Florence.

The objective of Power Grid is to supply the most cities with power when someone's network gains a predetermined size. In this new edition, players mark pre-existing routes between cities for connection, and then bid against each other to purchase the power plants that they use to power their cities.

However, as plants are purchased, newer, more efficient plants become available, so by merely purchasing, you're potentially allowing others access to superior equipment.

Additionally, players must acquire the raw materials (coal, oil, garbage, and uranium) needed to power said plants (except for the 'renewable' windfarm/ solar plants, which require no fuel), making it a constant struggle to upgrade your plants for maximum efficiency while still retaining enough wealth to quickly expand your network to get the cheapest routes.

Power Grid FAQ - Please read this before posting a rules question! Many questions are asked over and over in the forums... If you have a question about a specific expansion, please check the rules forum or FAQ for that particular expansion.

Ratings

5.25 out of
10 with
30 ratings

Board Game Rank: 11761

Description

Players roll dice to race around the board, catching diseases and trying to be cured. Catch diseases left in public places, pass diseases to other players, get cured in the medical stations. Medicaid, Christmas bonuses, and the lottery help pay the bills. Diagnose your disease in the Info center, get it wrong and you catch the disease!

Disease cards provide a wealth of information, are color coded to indicate severity from basic diseases to major communicable diseases. Each card includes both the common and Latin name, causes, symptoms and treatments. Multiple medical libraries and medical professionals have been consulted to insure the accuracy of the information.

Treatment options and prices vary over a large range. Visiting the Voodoo Doctor is the cheapest way to go, but his results can be unpredictable. The intensive care center has the best service, but is the most expensive place to be cured.

Ratings

5.18269 out of
10 with
52 ratings

Board Game Rank: 12089

Abstract Game Rank: 726

Description

This abstract game cleverly exploits its theme of warring spiders to introduce children to thinking games. The board represents a web with two nests at opposite ends, and stands up between the players. Each player uses his side of the board to move his spiders on (three small ones and a large one). Each spider has two long flexible legs with which it steps over the web; each leg ends in a peg which fits into holes in the web. The catch is that if you insert your peg in a hole occupied by an opponent's spider, it pushes his peg out. A spider hanging by only one leg is a "dangler" and is in danger of being pushed off the web altogether (and out of the game) should the opponent push its other leg out. Re-attaching a dangler uses up one's entire turn.

The object of the game is either to eliminate all of the opponent's spiders or put a leg in his nest.

On your turn, you move two different legs, belonging to the same or two different spiders. The small spiders' leg span confines them to adjacent holes. The big spider, the Daddy Long Leg, has a greater span and can use holes two spaces apart. A move consist of detaching a leg, pivoting around the other, and plugging the free leg back in.

Ratings

5.58182 out of
10 with
11 ratings

Board Game Rank: Not Ranked

Description

Scruples meets Balderdash. Players alternate roles as Host, Celebrity, and Audience. The Host asks the Celebrity a question. The Celebrity writes down his/her answer, while the host writes down a fake answer. The question and answers are read to the Audience who try to pick the real answer.

Ratings

1 out of
10 with
1 ratings

Board Game Rank: Not Ranked

Description

A trivia game in which the indicated youngest age for play is "5th year of medical school". The goal of the game is to answer 5 questions in 4 topic areas, mirroring the exams one takes to become a licensed medical doctor. The game is considered good enough to prepare students for their first official exam. Others may not enjoy the game all that much.

Ratings

5.62019 out of
10 with
104 ratings

Board Game Rank: 11231

Description

This is a game of land development and litigation. Each player is assigned an area of the board, containing three land sections and building lots of different colours (red, yellow, orange or blue). The object of the game is to be the first to build all of your nine buildings.

On your turn, you gamble for income. The income die is rolled; if it comes up on its red dot face, you don't get any money. Otherwise, you get the amount indicated and may roll again --but if you roll the red dot, you lose any income for the turn! Income is doubled once you've completed all three buildings of one of your land sections, tripled once you've completed two sections.

Next, you draw an Opportunity card and resolve it. You may buy a Town Meeting card; these cards are either Legal Action or Defence cards (this is kept secret until used). Finally, you may improve a property (from its undeveloped state), or build a resort on it (once improved) --if you have the money. The properties have varying degrees of risk associated with them (the Opportunity cards) and consequently varying building costs.

When you complete a building, the other players may play Legal Action cards (up to five), each of which places a red marble in the gavel device. You automatically get a green marble, and may add up to four more by using your Defence cards. The gavel is then shaken and then held up so marbles roll into the handle; a window at the handle's end reveals who won. If the opponents win, the builder does not get his building (and has lost the money) and the opponents get money from the bank for their trouble.

Ratings

3.975 out of
10 with
10 ratings

Board Game Rank: Not Ranked

Description

Based on the movie, this game's object is to discover your opponents' identities, find the Will and return to your home space.

On your move, you roll two dice (black and white); you move as indicated by the white die (1-6), adding the black die (1-3) if you choose to. Movement around the board can be accelerated by the Trolley or by Benny the taxi cab (each uses his own special die to move, which boils down to a 1 in 6 chance of stopping --this mechanic pervades the game as you'll see).

Identities can be guessed by looking at cards set up on the board; each shows half a character's picture, in a player colour. Once you've seen both halves of a given colour, you're allowed to guess that character as that player's identity. Each correct guess allows a search for the Will, checking the Confidential cards that lie on the Dip Cannon circle. Once a player has grabbed the Will, the others go after him and forget about identity-guessing.

You can steal the Will by Dip Cannonning the Will-holder, by sending a Weasel after him or by landing on him by exact count. To use th Dip Cannon, you use your (one and only) Dip Cannon card or one of the Judge Doom cards you've previously found, then roll the Dip Cannon die. Each "Dip" rolled turns the cannon one space towards your target; the "cancel dip" die face stops the process altogether. If you successfully Dip him, he drops the Will and is sent back to any home space. Weasels work in similar fashion, the Weasel token starting beside your token and moving towards its quarry with each successful weasel die throw. Used Weasel cards may be recovered by landing on a special space in the Dip Cannon circle.

Ratings

3.75 out of
10 with
4 ratings

Board Game Rank: Not Ranked

Abstract Game Rank: Not Ranked

Description

A "humorous" political board game in which players are candidates for the nation's highest office. Players must choose which states to campaign in, how you will spend your $30 Million dollar campaign budget, how to fend off the attacks of opponents, and how to avoid career-ending scandals. The game stresses the humorous side of presidential politics through the use of political cartoons. "Media Cards" feature the headlines of real-life prominent daily national newspapers (such as the Arizona Republic, Washington Post, Detroit Free Press, Chicago Sun Times, etc). "State Cards" feature historic and geographic highlights of each state. The game lasts through 30 days (turns) of a campaign (or 15 days for shorter games). The winner is determined by which player has the most Electoral Votes (out of the 538 actual votes).The game was updated in 1994 with minor changes to the rules.

Ratings

6.95545 out of
10 with
101 ratings

Board Game Rank: 4841

War Game Rank: 881

Description

Players represent barbarian hordes who sweep down from the steppes to overwhelm the remnants of the Roman Empire and then build strong expansionistic kingdoms among the ruins. These kingdoms grow into empires which become rich, corrupt, and the target of new waves of barbarian invaders. Being defeated is not the end of the game, as players may return to the fringes of civilization to amass a new horde of Huns or Germans. The unique play mechanism allows players to enter or exit at any time without disrupting the play or the victory conditions. Players may create their own history or play one of the many included historical scenarios set in the ancient and early medieval Mediterranean world.

Ratings

6.68132 out of
10 with
441 ratings

Board Game Rank: 2820

Customizable Rank: 82

Description

Based on J. Michael Straczynski's popular SF series (including the short-lived spin-off, "Crusade"), this CCG with a story-telling flavor deserves its fan following. Precedence lost the rights from Warner Brothers and Crusade was their final expansion set; the game was produced from 1997 until 2001 and is still supported by numerous fan web sites.

The Babylon 5 CCG is for two to five players (or more, using the alternate faction rules). Each player chooses a different Race (Narn, Centauri, Minbari, Human, etc.) and is in control of the ambassador of this race. With this ambassador you will build a Faction, then set an Agenda for your Faction to pursue. By fulfilling your Faction's Agenda and accumulating Power, you will lead your race to a position of dominance and win the game. You may recruit allies (character cards) from among the other races, or try to rely only on your own people.

Will you use diplomacy, intrigue or military conquest as your stepping stones to power? Will you rise to dominance on your own merits, or will you seek the aid of an elder race, like the Shadows? If you do, beware, for there may be a price! Choose your actions wisely Your decisions decide the fate of the Galaxy.

Ratings

6.55678 out of
10 with
1354 ratings

Board Game Rank: 1774

War Game Rank: 508

Description

(from the back of the box: )

Panzer Leader lets you re-create all of the fast, furious action of tactical armored combat on the western front during World War II. Rules of play consider aspects of tactical armored warfare such as gun ranges, target elevation, indirect artillery fire, fortifications, roadblocks, minefields, close air support, naval support fire, engineer demolition, and opportunity fire."

Ratings

6.91072 out of
10 with
252 ratings

Board Game Rank: 3095

War Game Rank: 495

Description

Two game set covering pivotal World War One battles of Tannenberg and The Marne.

Low-complexity for a wargame. Player's units are grouped into armies which have variable movement rates (based on a die roll) each turn. Units are rated for strength and efficiency. Special rules for artillery, supply, victory point hexes, fortified zones, forts, and strategic movement.

Ratings

5.46587 out of
10 with
104 ratings

Board Game Rank: 11617

War Game Rank: 2361

Description

First game in the Rome at War series.

Tactical wargame of moderate complexity that focuses on Hannibal (Carthage) versus Rome. Units are rated for combat strength and morale. Rules cover cavalry, elephants, facing, assaults, missile fire, legion/phalanx movement, and recovery. Activation system for leaders. Generally need a 6 roll to score hits. Small map (which is mounted) is not hex based, but divided into numbered areas. Five scenarios (historical commentary included) are provided; all can be completed in an hour or less. Excellent graphics.

Ratings

4.63158 out of
10 with
19 ratings

Board Game Rank: Not Ranked

Abstract Game Rank: Not Ranked

Description

Players are future hackers trying to avoid a deadly computer virus. There are three different types of cards in the game: Nodes, Double Nodes, and Specials. The nodes represent the different nodes on the net that you need to move through to stay ahead of the virus. Players are eliminated one-by-one by the virus until the last person remains and is the winner. A quick and dirty little game. The quality is fair and the rules are simple.

Ratings

Description

In 1932, Finance was published through L. S. Ayres & Co. The name was changed to Finance for trademark reasons, the first publication of a game which had become a household phenomenon.

Lizzie Magie first copyrighted the game in 1903, in slightly different form, under the name The Landlord's Game, and this game was made by hand in small quantities and was distributed mostly by individuals. At this time, the name Monopoly was first used to describe the game.

Though slight differences appeared in regional play of the game, the game was remarkably similar to the modern incarnation of Monopoly. Parker Brothers wanted to promote the Charles Darrow version of the game, even though they knew that it was not Mr. Darrow's creation.

Layman had already published Finance. The game had been around for years. According to a Time Magazine article dated February 17th, 1936:

"I wrote the entire rulebook for the game of Finance in 1931 (copyrighted 1932) and simplified the old game of Monopoly for manufacturing purposes..." --Dan Layman

"Almost exactly this same game as played at Williams was put on the market in Indianapolis early in 1932 through L. S. Ayres & Co. The name was changed to Finance for trademark reasons... "

This was the only article published which contradicted what would become Parker Brothers' assertion that it had published the original Monopoly, and that Layman's version was a spin-off. Layman had forced the retraction by Time in 1936, when an article two weeks earlier had published an article titled "Monopoly and Politics." What was unknown to Time was that Layman had sold the game to a small games manufacturer, David W. Knapp, the originator of the popular 1930s game "Krazy-Ikes."

Knapp was eventually bought out by Parker Brothers for $10,000--a significant sum at the time. But it was a far cry from the Millions in Royalties that were paid to Charles Darrow.

Parker Brothers eventually published the game Finance, after simplifying the rules for easier play and marketing it as a separate entity.

Ratings

6.53448 out of
10 with
29 ratings

Board Game Rank: Not Ranked

Abstract Game Rank: Not Ranked

Description

From the box:"Omar Sharif's mental push and pull for two players. A great new game of fast strategy, withs and bluff."This is a proprietary version of a paper and pencil game Footsteps. The board is a line with seven spaced on it. A single marker is placed on the center space. Both players start with 50 points. Each makes a hidden bid simultaneously. High bidder gets to move the marker one space closer to himself. Both players reduce the number of points by their bid amounts. Winner is the first to move the marker to the third space closes to him.

Ratings

Description

Dog has similarities to the Pachisi / Sorry! family of games, but with a few noticeable twists. The game mechanics is similar to TAC, Super Tock 4, Super Tock 6, Tock 6, and Super Tock 8.

The object of the game is to move your tokens from home to the target area as quickly as possible, moving them in a clockwise direction along the course according to the value of the cards. Whichever team first places all eight of its tokens in the target area wins.

The first twist in Dog is that play is based on a hand of cards held by each player, with the start player and the quantity of cards cycling on successive hands from six cards to two, then resetting to five, then progressing back to two. Card values range from 1-13, with a number of special actions represented.

The second twist is that Dog is a partnership game, with the players winning or losing as a team, which adds a significant level of strategy and tactics to the game. Partners trade one card at the beginning of each round, and once one player from a partnership has completed his group, his plays now assist his partner.

Compact Dog is a travel version of Dog that's limited to four players instead of allowing for play with either four or six players, as in the full game.

Dog shares many similarities with Partners, which can be described as a simplified version of Dog.

Ratings

5.47105 out of
10 with
19 ratings

Board Game Rank: Not Ranked

Abstract Game Rank: Not Ranked

Description

Extrapolated from the TRANSLATION:

Die Chinesische Mauer (The Chinese Wall)Game contents:64 tilesGame materials: Tiles -- each tile shows four towers. Attached to the towers are walls of the same color. The towers and walls are in the colors red, blue, yellow and white.

Goal of the game:

The goal of the players is to build the longest possible chain of towers and walls of their color. Ideally these chains should reach all four sides of the complete play area. But the chains of the fellow players inevitably get in the way ...

Ratings

5.61667 out of
10 with
24 ratings

Board Game Rank: Not Ranked

Description

In each round, 2 cards are placed face up. Players then secretly bid on for those cards. The highest bidder can pick one of the two cards to keep. However, that player also receives minus points in the amount of his bid. The player with the second-highest bid gets the remaining card for nothing.

PreparationEach player receives a paper and a pen. Each player prepares a small table for the minuses on his paper. Leave enough space for bids beside the table.

The bombs and the value cards are first separated. The value cards are mixed, and 2 are put on the table face up, side by side. The remaining value cards are now shuffled well with the 6 bombs and the stack is placed face down in the middle of the table.

PlayEach player secretly makes a bid. All players must bid at least 1. Bids can be no higher than 40. Now all players announce their bids.

1. The player with the highest number writes it in his deficit table. Now he can select one of the two face-up cards and keeps it in front of him.

2. The player with the second-highest number takes the remaining face-up card and keeps it in front of him. He does not write in his deficit table.

Now all players cross out their listed bids. The top two cards of the face-down stack are uncovered and the next round is played in exactly the same manner. Subsequent rounds are played in this way until the stack is completely spent. Then the final scores are announced.

Each player must display all cards won in plain view, with colors separated. Each individual number must be visible.

The bombsWhen a player takes a bomb, it must be played immediately. The player gives the bomb to a player of his choice covering one of his red or green value cards! The player receiving the bomb must set it and the covered value card aside so that it will score nothing at the end of the game.

What happens if several players tie for the highest bid? Only the players who tied for the highest bid continue to bid on the card. Only 1 card is up for bid and the remaining face-up card is put aside.

Final scoreFirst the red cards are totaled, then the green in the same manner. Each player adds the values of his red cards. The player with the most red cards doubles the sum of his red cards; all others receive only their normal red-card points. If several players tie for the most red cards, all these players double their red points.

The points for the red and green cards are added. Minus points are subtracted. The total value of all cards won and minuses are announced at the end the game. The player with the highest score is the winner.

Ratings

5.80279 out of
10 with
378 ratings

Board Game Rank: 6406

Children's Game Rank: 202

Description

The immensely rich but unfortunately somewhat scatter-brained Pharaoh had, during his life, collected treasures from throughout his kingdom. He decided to hide them in his pyramid to prevent then from being stolen. Unfortunately he is no longer sure where he has buried what. With luck you will be able to help him find his treasure again. The player that finds the most of the Pharaoh's treasures and thereby collects the greatest number of search cards is the winner.

After chips have placed in the game board, pyramids placed on top and the board spun around a few times in the hopes the players won’t know where treasure chips are located, the first player chooses a treasure card which assigns the number or points that the treasure will be worth would the player find it. The treasure cards have been separated into three piles marked 1, 2 and 3. Once pile 1 is exhausted, game continues with pile 2, etc. Then the player slides a pyramid into an empty space on the board. If no treasure chip is found, the player moves another pyramid. If the chip does not match his card, their turn is over. If the treasure is found, the player keeps the treasure card but the token stays where it is.

Mixed in with the treasure cards are event cards as follows:

Sandstorm: Turn the board through 180 degrees and take the next pile from the card.

Gift: Move to one of the twelve treasures. Each player that has one or more search cards depicting this treasure must give you one of them.

Risk: Nominate two treasures that are not currently displayed on the board. Move first to one and then to the other. If you succeed - well done! If you don't then you must give one of your opponents' one of your search cards.

Mirage: You draw a search card from your right hand neighbor's collection. If you are able to move to this treasure without making a mistake then you may keep the card. If you do not manage it then you must give your right hand neighbor one of your cards.

Desert Poker: A player of you choice must try to find a treasure that you nominate. If he succeeds then he can take one of your search cards. If he fails then you can take one of his.

End Game: The Pharaoh is happy because all the treasure has been found. As soon as this (Pile 3 only) card is turned over the game ends and the players total up the points that are shown on their search cards.

After each player has found a treasure the board is rotated through 90 degrees in a chosen direction.

Once all the search cards from the second pile are used up then pile "3" is used. In this final round all the treasures on the search cards are worth 4 points and anyone who has not yet been particularly successful can, with brains and luck, overtake all the others.

When a player finds a treasure chip that is not the one that he was looking for he is out of the game. The remaining players continue. Play continues until all the players are eliminated or the End Game Card is turned over.

All the players total up the points that they have showing on the search cards they have collected. The player with the greatest number of points is the winner.

Ratings

5.88889 out of
10 with
9 ratings

Board Game Rank: Not Ranked

Children's Game Rank: Not Ranked

Description

Kasimir the giant is pleased. Here, in this meadow, it is beautiful, and someone has left small autos, boats and tiny bicycles, which look like play toys. After playing for a while with the "toys", Kasimir becomes very tired and takes a little nap. When he wakes up, Kasimir is astonished. He is lashed to the ground. Around him are a number of tiny men. "Hey, who are you and why have you tied me up?". "We are the Small Ones, " answers one of the tiny men, "and you are so terribly large that we were afraid of you." "Please untie me... I just wanted to play with the beautiful toys", said Kasimir. "I must go home before it becomes dark, otherwise I'll make my parents worry." The tiny men have compassion on him and let him loose. Kasimir thanks the Small Ones and promises that he will come back soon to play.

GoalThe players help the Small Ones to untie Kasimir. They collect the pegs which have different point values. The player, who helps best and collects thus the most points, wins.

Ratings

6.61179 out of
10 with
122 ratings

Board Game Rank: 5298

Thematic Rank: 672

Strategy Game Rank: 1445

Description

Don't Panic

East German game of Wizardry and Magic. Uses simultaneous action, dynamic tension, spells, special powers, line-of-sight and hidden identities in a peculiar mix that defies description but inspires awe in those who've experienced it. Feige Spiele's warehouse burnt down in early 1983, just before distribution of Willi Sonderling's masterpiece was to be shipped. Only a handful of reviewer copies survived.

Shortly thereafter there was a very small print run (fewer than a couple hundred) of the German version, das Verschwinden. In the mid to late 80s, the Starducks promotional version was released in certain regions of the United States. (The Starducks version was released in two parts - a base game and expansion - but both parts are really needed to play the game.)